“1 Then went Samson to Gaza, and saw there an harlot, and went in unto
her. 2 [And it was told] the Gazites, saying, Samson is come hither. And
they compassed [him] in, and laid wait for him all night in the gate of
the city, and were quiet all the night, saying, In the morning, when it
is day, we shall kill him. 3 And Samson lay till midnight, and arose at
midnight, and took the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts,
and went away with them, bar and all, and put [them] upon his shoulders,
and carried them up to the top of an hill that [is] before Hebron.”
“4 And it came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman in the valley
of Sorek, whose name [was] Delilah. 5 And the lords of the Philistines
came up unto her, and said unto her, Entice him, and see wherein his
great strength [lieth], and by what [means] we may prevail against him,
that we may bind him to afflict him: and we will give thee every one of
us eleven hundred [pieces] of silver. 6 And Delilah said to Samson, Tell
me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength [lieth], and wherewith thou
mightest be bound to afflict thee. 7 And Samson said unto her, If they
bind me with seven green withs that were never dried, then shall I be
weak, and be as another man. 8 Then the lords of the Philistines brought
up to her seven green withs which had not been dried, and she bound him
with them. 9 Now [there were] men lying in wait, abiding with her in the
chamber. And she said unto him, The Philistines [be] upon thee, Samson.
And he brake the withs, as a thread of tow is broken when it toucheth
the fire. So his strength was not known. 10 And Delilah said unto
Samson, Behold, thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: now tell me, I
pray thee, wherewith thou mightest be bound. 11 And he said unto her, If
they bind me fast with new ropes that never were occupied, then shall I
be weak, and be as another man. 12 Delilah therefore took new ropes, and
bound him therewith, and said unto him, The Philistines [be] upon thee,
Samson. And [there were] liers in wait abiding in the chamber. And he
brake them from off his arms like a thread. 13 And Delilah said unto
Samson, Hitherto thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: tell me
wherewith thou mightest be bound. And he said unto her, If thou weavest
the seven locks of my head with the web. 14 And she fastened [it] with
the pin, and said unto him, The Philistines [be] upon thee, Samson. And
he awaked out of his sleep, and went away with the pin of the beam, and
with the web. 15 And she said unto him, How canst thou say, I love thee,
when thine heart [is] not with me? thou hast mocked me these three
times, and hast not told me wherein thy great strength [lieth]. 16 And
it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged
him, [so] that his soul was vexed unto death; 17 That he told her all
his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a razor upon mine
head; for I [have been] a Nazarite unto God from my mother’s womb: if I
be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak,
and be like any [other] man.”
“18 And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent
and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, Come up this once,
for he hath shewed me all his heart. Then the lords of the Philistines
came up unto her, and brought money in their hand. 19 And she made him
sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to
shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and
his strength went from him. 20 And she said, The Philistines [be] upon
thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as
at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the LORD
was departed from him. 21 But the Philistines took him, and put out his
eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass;
and he did grind in the prison house.”
“22 Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after he was
shaven. 23 Then the lords of the Philistines gathered them together for
to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god, and to rejoice: for
they said, Our god hath delivered Samson our enemy into our hand. 24 And
when the people saw him, they praised their god: for they said, Our god
hath delivered into our hands our enemy, and the destroyer of our
country, which slew many of us. 25 And it came to pass, when their
hearts were merry, that they said, Call for Samson, that he may make us
sport. And they called for Samson out of the prison house; and he made
them sport: and they set him between the pillars. 26 And Samson said
unto the lad that held him by the hand, Suffer me that I may feel the
pillars whereupon the house standeth, that I may lean upon them. 27 Now
the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the
Philistines [were] there; and [there were] upon the roof about three
thousand men and women, that beheld while Samson made sport. 28 And
Samson called unto the LORD, and said, O Lord GOD, remember me, I pray
thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may
be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes. 29 And Samson
took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, and on
which it was borne up, of the one with his right hand, and of the other
with his left. 30 And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And
he bowed himself with [all his] might; and the house fell upon the
lords, and upon all the people that [were] therein. So the dead which he
slew at his death were more than [they] which he slew in his life. 31
Then his brethren and all the house of his father came down, and took
him, and brought [him] up, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in
the buryingplace of Manoah his father. And he judged Israel twenty
years.” (Judges 16:1-31 AV)
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